Numerous structural and operational solutions have been developed to mitigate environmental impacts of hydropower. These range from screening intakes to prevent fish ingress, through to changes in facility operation. Despite this, the mitigation implemented will represent a compromise between legislative, economic, social and environmental concerns. Legislative obligations can present contradictory pressures e.g. meeting both renewable energy and environmental targets. Increasing environmental awareness has resulted in a range of stakeholders engaging with the issue of sustainable hydropower, increasing the potential for conflict. Using an organisational process modelling approach (Soft Systems Methodology [SSM]), this research project examined the impact of potential stakeholder conflicts on achieving environmentally sustainable hydropower. SSM uses the notion of a system as an interrogative device that will enable debate between the parties involved.
The project design comprised of three components, each representing a different scale of development, at a discrete stage in its lifecycle. The first component examined a small scale proposed development in the New Forest (Hampshire, England) focusing on opposing stakeholder requirements and their impact on economic feasibility. The second investigated conflicts caused by the need to amend operations in existing facilities due to the EU Water Framework Directive, based on well-established meso-scale developments in Scotland. Greater understanding of the nature of such conflicts highlighted key issues and potentially facilitated compromise. The third used the case of the Severn Estuary Barrage to examine how perceptions and behaviours of the public, government and industrial stakeholders interacted at the proposal stage.
Publications:
Watkin, L.J., Kemp, P.S., Williams, I.D. & Harwood, I.A. (2012). Managing sustainable development conflicts: the impact of stakeholders in small-scale hydropower schemes. Environmental Management 49: 1208-1223.
People:
Dr Laura Watkin
Dr Ian Harwood
Prof Paul Kemp
Prof Ian Williams